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Major wildfires sweeping through forests in Greece force evacuations near Athens and the northeast
Major wildfires sweeping through forests in Greece force evacuations near Athens and the northeast
Major wildfires burning for days in northeastern Greece and on the fringes of the country's capital have incinerated more tracts of forest and forced additional evacuations Thursday as firefighters struggled against strong winds and arid conditions to bring the multiple fronts under control. The wildfires have left 20 people dead over the last week. Eighteen of those, including two boys aged between 10 and 15, are believed to be migrants who crossed the nearby border with Turkey. Their bodies were found by firefighters near a shack in a burnt forest area in northeastern Greece. Sixty firefighters have been injured battling the flames, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said Thursday. Elsewhere in Europe, fires on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, northwestern Turkey near the border with Greece, Portugal and Italy were being brought under control, officials said. In Greece, dozens of firefighting aircraft, including from other European countries, assisted hundreds crews on the ground trying to beat back multiple fires raging across the country. On Wednesday alone, firefighters battled 99 separate blazes across the country, authorities said. In Greece’s northeast, a major fire in the Alexandroupolis area that forced numerous evacuations, including of the city’s general hospital, was burning for a sixth day with few signs of abating. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service, the Alexandroupolis fire had scorched more than 723 square kilometers (280 square miles) by Wednesday, making it one of the largest on European soil in several years. Copernicus is the EU space program’s Earth observation component and uses satellite imagery to provide mapping data. On the outskirts of Athens, a major fire that destroyed homes in the foothills of Mount Parnitha on Wednesday was racing across the mountain’s forested slopes and threatened the heart of a national park that's one of the last wooded areas near the Greek capital. Evacuation orders were issued for several outlying suburbs overnight into Thursday, while other neighborhoods were put on standby for possible evacuation. With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece has asked other European countries for assistance. Germany, Sweden, Croatia and Cyprus have sent aircraft, while dozens of Romanian, French, Czech, Bulgarian and Albanian firefighters have been helping on the ground. Artopios, the Greek fire department spokesman, said 260 firefighters, including more than a dozen from France, were battling the Parnitha fire supported by a multinational force of 10 planes and 11 helicopters. Bulgarian, Albanian, Romanian and Czech firefighters with vehicles were helping in the Alexandroupolis fire. With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires. European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. Gale-force winds combined with hot, dry weather to whip up the flames over the past week in Greece, making the blazes exceptionally difficult to bring under control. Weather conditions this summer have been “the worst since meteorological data have been gathered and the fire risk map has been issued in the country,” Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Wednesday. Extensive parts of the country have been placed at Level 5 - the highest for fire risk - seven times this year. Kikilias said that was double the number of 2021, four times that of 2019 and seven times more than in 2012. In Spain’s Tenerife, a fire that has scorched 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) was being brought under control by Wednesday night. “It’s a very tough battle that the firefighting teams are winning,” Canary regional government counselor Manuel Miranda said Wednesday evening. In Turkey, firefighters in the northwestern Canakkale province on Thursday brought a wildfire under control less than 48 hours after it erupted amid high temperatures and strong winds, Turkish Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said. Yumakli said the fire, which had forced the evacuation of 11 villages, had affected 40 square kilometers (15 square miles) including 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) of agricultural land. A firefighting volunteer who was injured and six other people who suffered from smoke inhalation were being kept under observation in hospitals, Yumakli said. “We are extremely happy that there was no loss of life,” Yamukli said. “However, we are heartbroken for other creatures of the ecosystem that were affected.” Shipping traffic through the Dardanelles Strait, a major maritime thoroughfare linking the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, was being partially restored to one lane only, after being completely suspended as fire-dousing aircraft use the waterway to pick up water. Yumakli said another fire in central Turkey has also been brought under control and there were no other active wildfires in the country on Thursday. Two large fires in Portugal and a smaller one in Italy were brought under control by Thursday, those countries' authorities said, but temperatures - and the risk of new fires - remained high. ____ Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide From Europe to Canada to Hawaii, photos capture destructive power of wildfires Tropical storm hits Caribbean, wildfires rage in Greece. What to know about extreme weather now ‘Frustrated’ British Museum boss says dealer did not mention more missing items
2023-08-24 18:27
Titanic tourist sub missing for third day with five aboard
Titanic tourist sub missing for third day with five aboard
By Joseph Ax and Kanishka Singh (Reuters) -A submersible taking wealthy tourists to visit the site of the Titanic wreckage
2023-06-20 21:00
Two goals in 2 minutes help Japan beat Costa Rica 2-0 at Women's World Cup
Two goals in 2 minutes help Japan beat Costa Rica 2-0 at Women's World Cup
Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino scored two minutes apart in the first half to give Japan a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday at the Women’s World Cup
2023-07-26 16:50
Typhoon Doksuri destroys power lines, closes factories as it rips into China
Typhoon Doksuri destroys power lines, closes factories as it rips into China
By Bernard Orr and Yimou Lee BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) -Typhoon Doksuri swept into China's southeastern Fujian province on Friday unleashing heavy
2023-07-28 12:45
Nick Kyrgios withdraws on eve of Wimbledon with a wrist injury. He was the runner-up last year
Nick Kyrgios withdraws on eve of Wimbledon with a wrist injury. He was the runner-up last year
Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of Wimbledon the night before the tournament’s start
2023-07-03 05:58
Eurovision 2023: 'Maybe we'll forget the Ukraine war for two hours'
Eurovision 2023: 'Maybe we'll forget the Ukraine war for two hours'
Eurovision in Liverpool is already a jubilant celebration but the picture in Ukraine is worlds apart.
2023-05-11 07:51
Shooting near Ecuador presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner
Shooting near Ecuador presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner
One of Ecuador's presidential candidates has demanded an investigation into a shooting that took place meters from where he was dining out with his family on Saturday -- just one day before the country goes to the polls.
2023-08-20 10:45
Is Alfonso Ribeiro OK? 'Dancing with the Stars' host suffers concussion after being hit in the head by a baseball at son's game
Is Alfonso Ribeiro OK? 'Dancing with the Stars' host suffers concussion after being hit in the head by a baseball at son's game
'I was standing off to the side and I’m putting someone’s number in the phone and boom, a ball to the back of my head,' Alfonso Ribeiro said
2023-09-23 03:59
Still without Cam Rising, No. 11 Utah rides defense to 14-7 win over No. 22 UCLA
Still without Cam Rising, No. 11 Utah rides defense to 14-7 win over No. 22 UCLA
Karene Reid returned an interception for a touchdown and Landen King had a TD catch for No. 11 Utah, which used a stifling defensive performance to beat No. 22 UCLA 14-7
2023-09-24 07:54
Fans swoon as Fox News' Tomi Lahren wishes her 'babe and best friend' JP Arencibia on their first anniversary
Fans swoon as Fox News' Tomi Lahren wishes her 'babe and best friend' JP Arencibia on their first anniversary
Fox News host Tomi Lahren and her husband JP Arencibia shared glimpses of their wedding day as they celebrated one year of being married
2023-10-22 10:53
What is J Street? Bizarre Internet theory claims pro-Israel pro-peace group is behind ‘Queers For Palestine’
What is J Street? Bizarre Internet theory claims pro-Israel pro-peace group is behind ‘Queers For Palestine’
Numerous US states have seen a large influx of pro-Palestinian protestors taking to the streets to express their outrage at Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip
2023-11-02 14:54
Is the US Headed for a Recession? Look at What Richer Americans Do on Black Friday
Is the US Headed for a Recession? Look at What Richer Americans Do on Black Friday
Richer Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has
2023-11-21 22:53